Bag vending machine

ABSTRACT

A vending machine adapted to dispense bags having bail handles. The bags are stored by placing the bails over a vertically extending shaft, and by providing a metering plate at the top of the shaft whereby only one bag can be dispensed at a time. The metering plate is coin controlled, and a bag can be dispensed only after a predetermined amount of money has been inserted in the device. The improvement of this invention resides in the provision of a mechanism to insure that a bag will be dispensed each time the predetermined amount of money has been inserted in the machine. In the prior devices, it is possible to insert the predetermined amount of money, have the machine collect the money and be automatically reset, while at the same time the bag will not be dispensed.

tent [191 States Verbeke BAG VENDING MACHINE [75] Inventor: HenryVerbeke, Chester, NJ.

[73] Assignee: APL Corporation, Great Neck, NY.

[22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 196,968

[51] Int. Cl. G071 11/00 [58] Field of Search 221/240, 245; 194/2,194/63 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,119,484 1/1964Davis et al. 194/63 X 3,163,275 12/1964 Andrews et a] 194/2 PrimaryExaminer-Samuel F. Coleman Assistant Examiner-Joseph J. Rolla AttorneyStanley Cohen et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A vending machine adapted to dispense bags having bailhandles. The bags are stored by placing the bails over a verticallyextending shaft, and by providing a metering plate at the top of theshaft whereby only one bag can be dispensed at a time. The meteringplate is coin controlled, and a bag can be dispensed only after apredetermined amount of money has been inserted in the device. Theimprovement of this invention resides in the provision of a mechanism toinsure that a bag will be dispensed each time the predetermined amountof money has been inserted in the machine. In the prior devices, it ispossible to insert the predetermined amount of money, have the machinecollect the money and be automatically reset, while at the same time thebag will not be dispensed.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENFEU m3 1 ma SHEEIIBFZ FIG. 2

INVEN TOR HENRY VERBEKE ATTORNEYS.

PAIENIEU JIM-3 I 3. 749.2 1 8 sum 2 0r 2 INVEN TOR HENRY VERBEKE BY ATTORNEYS.

BAG VENDING MACHINE This invention relates to a bag vending machine, andmore particularly, to a bag vending machine having a mechanism to insurethe vending of a single bag each time a predetermined amount of moneyhas been inserted in and retained by the machine.

1t is now a common practice for large stores, such as department stores,to vend shopping bags having the name of the store thereon through theuse of coin operated vending machines. Each of the machines currently inuse will permit the removal of a single bag from a stack of the bagsafter a coin of predetermined denomination has ben inserted into thevending machine. Examples of devices that are currently in use can befound in US. Pat. Nos. 3,119,484 and 3,379,296.

The device of US. Pat. No. 3,119,484 comprises a frame having avertically extending shaft and a locking mechanism which permits theremoval of a single bag after a coin has been inserted in a coin slot.The device is mechanically controlled by the coin, and the coinphysically controls an escapement mechanism whereby the bag can only beremoved after the escapement mechanism has been triggered by the coin.

In the device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,296, there is also a supportingframe and a vertically extending shaft which supports the bail handlesof the bags. Here again, the device is operational through the insertionof a single coin. In this device, however, the unlocking of the lockingplate is electro-mechanically controlled. Thus, after the coin of apredetermined denomination has been inserted into the coin slot, theplunger of a solenoid is removed from a cam gate, thereby permitting thepivoting of the gate to release one bag from the stack of the bags.After the bag has been removed, the plunger is automatically returned toa position wherein the cam gate cannot be repivoted to permit vendinguntil another coin has been inserted.

An improvement over the aforementioned bag vending machines resides inthe device disclosed and claimed in my co-pending United Statesapplication Ser. No. 130,117, filed Apr. 1, 1971 and entitled BagVending Machine. The most significant of the improvements in the deviceof my copending application Ser. No. 130,117 is that bags can be vendedat any price. Thus, the device can be used for vending a bag which canhave a value in the range of $.05 to $1.50, and the value can be changedin $.05 increments. However, the device is similar in other respects tothe aforementioned devices in that it includes a frame, a verticallyextending shaft which passes through the bails of shopping bags, and ametering disc or plate which permits the removal of only a single bageach time a predetermined amount of money has been deposited in the bagvending machine.

It has now been found that all of the bag vending machines currentlyavailable which utilize a frame, a shaft passing through bail handles ofbags and a bag metering plate have one major disadvantage in common.None of these devices, including the device of my aforementionedco-pending application Ser. No. 130,117, has any mechanism for insuringthe vending of a bag each time the proper amount of money has beeninserted and the vending lock has been reset. Thus, in operation, eachof the bag vending machines of this type requires the use of the bailhandle of the bag to effectuate vending. The bag is lifted verticallyupward and the bail handle enters a notch in the metering plate. If animproper amount of money has been deposited in the machine, the platecannot be pivoted beyond a certain point, and will be locked shut. 1fthe proper amount of money has been deposited, the plate will pivot to apoint whereby the bail handle can be freed from the shaft on which ithas been placed, thereby permitting the vending of the bag.

in all of the aforementioned bag vending machines of the type described,somewhere between the position at which the lock is open permitting thepivoting of the metering plate andthe position at which the bag isremoved from the shaft, the locking mechanism is automatically reset.Thus, the mechanism must be reset before the bag is withdrawn from theshaft, or else the bag vending machine could be operated continuously bythe insertion of a single coin or by the insertion of the predeterminedamount of money, as is the case with the machine covered by myaforementioned co-pending application Ser. No. 130,1 17. At the timethat the lock is reset, the bag still remains on the shaft. If thecustomer should accidentally remove his grasp from the bag, the bagmetering plate is pivoted back to its at-rest position, at which timethe bag will be returned to the stack of bags on the shaft. If thecustomer again attempts to pull the bag from the stack and off theshaft, he will be unable to do so, since the bag metering plate is againlocked. It is thus seen that the customer can deposit the correct amountof money and still not have a bag vended because he has accidentallyremoved the pressure from the bag as he was pulling it from the shaftand pivoting the bag metering plate.

The device of this invention insures that the bag will be vended eachtime the machine collects the predetermined amount of money. Theimprovement of this invention is adapted for use with any bag vendingmachine that includes a shaft supporting the bail handles and a meteringplate acting in conjunction with the shaft to permit vending only aftera predetermined amount of money has been inserted in the machine. Thus,the improvement of this invention can be used with the bag meteringmachines disclosed in U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,119,484 and 3,379,296, with thedevice disclosed in my aforementioned application Ser. No. 130,1 17 orwith any other bag vending machine utilizing the combination of theshaft and the metering plate.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved bagvending machine.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a bag vendingmachine that insures that a single bag will be vended each time apredetermined amount of money has been inserted in the machine.

These and other objects of this invention are accomplished by providinga bag vending machine comprising a frame, means on said frame forsupporting a plurality of bags, metering means for permitting thedispensing of individual bags, coin controlled lock means forcontrolling said metering means and means to insure the dispensing of abag whenever said coin controlled lock means is opened.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bag vending machine of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of the meteringmechanism of the bag vending machine of this invention, and taken in thedirection of line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG. 2, and showing theposition of the handle of the bag when it is attempted to withdraw thebag and the machine remains locked for failure to insert sufficientmoney into the machine;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG. 3, but showing theposition of the bail handle after sufficient money has been inserted tounlock the metering plate and permit vending of the bag;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG. 4, and showing theposition of the bail handle of the bag at the time dispensing iscompleted;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the mechanism for insuring bagdispensing of this invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingswherein like reference characters refer to like parts, a bag vendingmachine embodying the present invention is generally shown at in FIG. 1.Device 20 basically comprises a frame 22, a bag metering housing 24 anda shaft 26 which projects vertically upward on the frame 22.

Frame 22 comprises a base 28 having levelling discs 30 at each of thecorners thereof. A U-shaped beam 32 projects vertically upward from thebase 28, and includes a pair of outwardly extending flanges 34. A pairof L-shaped braces 36 is connected to flanges 34 and base 28 by suitablefasteners, such as nuts and bolts.

Shaft 26 is secured in the top surface of base 28 by a suitable collar,and projects vertically upward from the base. The shaft includes anangled portion 40 adjacent its top, and terminates in a horizontalportion 42 at the top. A longitudinally extending slot 44 (FIG. 2) isformed in the top surface of portion 42 and in the upper portion ofportion 40 of shaft 26.

As seen in FIG. 1, bag metering housing 24 includes a front wall 46, atop wall 48, a pair of side walls and a bottom wall 52 (FIG. 2). Aflange 54 projects inwardly from the rear end of each side wall 50. Acoin return rod 56 projects through top wall 48 adjacent a coin slot 58.A lock 60 is secured on top wall 48, which lock is used for securing thebag metering housing 24 in place.

As seen in FIG. 1, a coin return slot 62 is formed in the front wall 46of housing 24. A coin box door 64 is pivotally mounted on side wall 50.This door can be locked in the closed position shown in FIG. 1 by lock66.

The housing 24 is mounted on flanges 34, which have upper portions ofreduced width to accommodate the housing. The mounting is accomplishedby sliding the flanges 54 of side walls 50 behind the upper portions offlanges 34 (FIG. 1). The housing rests on an L-shaped brace 68 whichextends across the front faces of flanges 34 and is secured thereto. Thehousing 24 is secured in place by rotating 8 finger mounted on lock 60into a slot formed in one of the flanges 34.

A bag matering plate 70 is pivotally mounted in bag metering housing 24.The plate projects through a slot in bottom housing wall 52. The bagmetering plate includes a notch 72 at the bottom thereof, which notch isequal in width to the diameter of the bail handle of the bag adapted tobe dispensed by the vending machine. Plate projects into slot 44 formedin upper portion 42 of shaft 26 (FIG. 2).

The foregoing description briefly summarizes the bag vending machine ofthis invention, without describing the specific improvement embodied inthe machine. Before describing the improvement, the function of themachine should be understood. Greater detail of the entire bag vendingmachine and its function can be found in my aforementioned United Statesapplication Ser. No. 130,] 17. The bag vending machine shown herein isshown for the purpose of illustration to show one type of vendingmachine in which the improvement of this invention can be used. Itshould be understood, however, that the improvement of this inventioncan be utilized on any bag vending machine that includes a means forsupporting a plurality of bags and a metering means acting inconjunction with the supporting means.

The vending machine of this invention is used for dispensing bags 106having bail handles 108 (FIG. 1). The device is used by first insertingthe required amount of money in coin slot 58. Thereafter, the uppermostbag 106 is lifted from the stack of bags shown in FIG. 1, and pulledupwardly until the bail handle 108 is engaged in notch 72 of bagmetering plate 70. This causes the bag metering plate to rotate in acounterclockwise direction, as indicated by arrow 74 in FIG. 2. Sincethe proper amount of money has been inserted in the machine, the lockwhich prevents the counterclockwise rotation of plate 70 is opened, andthe plate can be rotated to the position shown in FIG. 5. At that point,the bag can be removed from the device, and the plate 70 isautomatically spring urged back to the position shown in FIG. 2, whereinit is ready for the dispensing of another bag uponthe insertion of theproper amount of money.

If insufficient money has been deposited in the vending machine, and theuppermost bag is pulled, plate 70 can be rotated only to the positionshown in FIG. 3. As seen in FIG. 3, it is impossible to remove the bailhandle 108 from shaft 26, and vending can accordingly not beaccomplished until more money is deposited in the machine.

There is a fourth position for the plate 70 during the vendingoperation, which position is shown in FIG. 4. When the plate is in thisposition, the proper amount of money has been deposited in the machine,the lock has been opened, and at the instant the bail handle 108 is inthe position shown in FIG. 4, the money which has been deposited hasbeen collected and the lock has been reset for the plate 70. Ifcontinued pressure is placed on bail handle 108 bypulling bag 106, theplate 70 will rotate to the position shown in FIG. 5, thereby freeingthe bail handle 108 and its associated bag. However, if the customershould temporarily remove the pulling pressure from the bag, the plate70 will automatically be spring urged back to the position shown in FIG.2 and the bail 108 will be returned to the angled portion 40 of shaft26. When this occurs, the money will have been collected and the lockreset, without the customer's having obtained a bag. As pointed outabove, the sequence of steps is such that the lock must be reset beforethe bag 106 is dispensed, or else a customer could continually removebags from the machine after depositing his money only once. Therefore,since the resetting must take place before vending, the possibilitycontinually exists for the customer to lose his money, and in addition,not receive the bag. It has been found that this has occurred onnumerous occasions, which results in dissatisfied customers and in abuseto the bag vending machines.

The improvement of this invention insures that the customer will receivea bag whenever the proper amount of money has been deposited in themachine. The device for accomplishing this result is generally shown at76 in FIG. 8. Device 76 basically comprises a mounting bracket 78 and anarm 80. Mounting bracket 78 basically comprises a plate 82 having anupwardly projecting flange 84 and a pair of dependent tabs 86. Each tab86 has a hole 88 passing therethrough.

Arm 80 comprises a plate 90 having a slot 92 formed therein. Slot 92forms the plate 90 into a pair of spaced rods 94. Each rod 94 has anupwardly projecting lip 96 at the outer end thereof. Plate 90 futherincludes an upwardly projecting flange 98 having tabs 100 formedthereon. Each tab 100 includes a hole 102 formed therein.

- In use, bracket 78 is mounted on bracket 68 (FIG. 7) at the centerthereof. As seen in FIG. 8, flange 84 of bracket 78 has a pair of spacedholes 104 formed therein. The bracket 78 is mounted on'bracket 68 byrivets 105 or other suitable fasteners passing through holes 104.

After the bracket 78 has been secured in place, tabs 100 are insertedwithin tabs 86, and holes 88 and 102 are aligned. Rivets 109 (FIG. 8)are then passed through the aligned holes 88 and 102, whereby the arm 80is pivotally mounted on bracket 78. As seen in FIG. 6, when arm 80 ismounted on bracket 78, the rods 94 rest on horizontal portion 42 ofshaft 26, and the metering plate 70 is received in slot 92. Thus, a rod94 is positioned on each side of metering plate 70.

The operation of the bag vending machine will again be described inconnection with the function of mechanism 76. Referring again to FIG. 2,the position of a bail 108 of a bag 106 is shown as the bag is beingpulled up the shaft 26. The bail handle 108 has just reached the top ofangled portion 40 and is about to contact arm 80 of mechanism 76.Continued pressure on the bag will raise arm 80 by pivoting the samearound rivets I09. Thereafter, the bail 108 will enter notch 72 inmetering plate 70. Continued pressure against the plate will cause theplate to rotate in the direction of arrow 74, as seen in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, the position of the metering plate 70 shown thereinis the locked position of the metering plate in the event that aninsufficient amount of money has been deposited in the bag vendingmachine. Thus, when the plate has ben pivoted to the position shown inFIG. 3, and insufficient money has been deposited in the vendingmachine, the plate will be locked in place, and can pivot no farther.When in this position, the rods 94 of arm 80 rest on the top of bailhandle 108. If the pressure pulling bag 106 from the stack is releasedat this point, plate 70 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewedin FIG. 3, thereby returning the bag to the stack shown in FIG. 1.

If sufficient money has been placed in the vending machine to permitvending, the continued pulling on the bag 106 will bring the bag handle108 to the position shown in FIG. 4. When the plate is in this position,the coin mechanism is reset to its original position, with no moneytotalled thereon, and the lock for plate 70 is reset. Thus, when theplate is rotated in a clockwise direction to its at-rest position, asshown in FIG. 2, it will again be locked in place. However, even thoughthe lock has been reset, the plate can still rotate in the direction ofarrow 74 until the bag has been vended.

Referring still to FIG. 4, it is seen that the credit established by theinsertion of coins has been eliminated when the bail handle 108 is inthe position shown in FIG. 4. If the customer should inadvertentlyrelease his hold on the bag at this point, the plate 70, which is springurged in a clockwise direction, would return the bag to the positionshown in FIG. 2. However, because of the provision of arm 80, thiscannot occur. Thus, as seen in FIG. 4, once the bail handle 108 is inthe position shown in FIG. 4, the rods 94 rest on shaft portion 42, andthe bail handle 108 abuts lips 96. Accordingly, even if the pressure onthe bag were released, the engagement of the bail handle 108 against thelips 96 prevents the return of the bag to the top of the stack.

The continued pulling of the uppermost bag willmove the plate 70 to theposition shown in FIG. 5, at which time the bag handle 108 is released.The metering plate 70 is then spring urged until it returns to theposition shown in FIG. 2. There is no interference with the pivoting ofthe plate 70 by the arm 80, since the plate pivots freely within theslot 92 of arm 80, as seen in FIG. 6.

It is thus seen that the combination of the arm 80, the bail handle 108and the notch 72 in metering plates 70 serve as a safety mechanism toinsure that the customer will always receive a bag when the properamount of money has been inserted in the bag vending machine. At theinstant the coin mechanism is reset to lock the bag metering plate, thebail handle will be in the position shown in FIG. 4, thereby preventingthe return of the bail handle, even if the customer should release hispressure on the bag. Although the invention has been describedparticularly with reference to the bag vending machine disclosed in myaforementioned copending United States application Ser. No. 130,1l7, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, it is to beunderstood that the mechanism 76 can be used with any of the bag vendingmachines known to the art that utilized a support for the bags and ametering plate used in combination with the support.

The exact positioning of the lips 96 of the arm is somewhat flexible inthat the lips can be positioned at any location between the position ofplate 70 at the time it is locked and cannot rotate further, and theposition of plate 70 at the time the credit is erased or reset. Thus,the credit need not be reset at the exact position of the bail handlesin FIG. 4. All that is necessary is that the credit be reset prior tothe position for the plate 70 shown in FIG. 5, that is, prior to thetime that the bail handle can be removed from notch 72 and shaft 26.Accordingly, the lips 96 can be at any position beyond the lockedposition of plate 70. Once the plate has passed the locked position, themoney has been collected, and vending should take place.

It should also be noted that once the plate 70 has rotated beyond theposition shown in FIG. 3, the rods 94 will drop to the position shown inFIG. 4 by the force of gravity, since the arm 80 is freely pivotablearound rivets 109. Likewise, since the arm 80 is relatively light inweight, it can easily be lifted when the bail handle 108 is in theposition shown in FIG. 3.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate myinvention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge,readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A bag vending machine comprising a frame, means on said frame forsupporting a plurality of bags, each of said bags having bail handles, ashaft supported by said frame, said bags being secured on said shaft bypassing said shaft through said bail handles, metering means forpermitting the dispensing of individual bags, a coin slot associatedwith said metering means, coin controlled lock means for controllingsaid metering means, said metering means comprising a plate, said shafthaving a slot formed therein, with said plate being received in saidslot, said plate being rotated in one direction in said slot during thevending of a bag, said plate having a notch in which the bail handle ofthe bag is carried when vending takes place, and means to preventretrograde motion of said bail handle upon the unlocking of saidcoin-controlled lock means by at least one coin, said preventing meanscomprising an arm pivotally mounted on said frame, said arm resting onsaid shaft adjacent said slot, said arm being lifted by said bail handleduring the vending of a bag, and means on said arm engagable by saidbail handle to prevent the return of the handle past the arm after saidlock means has been opened.

2. The vending machine of claim 1 wherein said engageable meanscomprises at least one lip formed on said arm.

3. The vending machine of claim 1 wherein said arm comprises a pair ofrods separated by a slot, said rods bridging said slot in said shaft,whereby said plate is rotatable in said slot in said shaft and in saidslot bridging said rods.

4. The vending machine of claim 3 wherein each of said rods has a lipformed at the end thereof, said lips being engageable by said bailhandle to prevent the return of the arm after said lock means has beenopened.

5. A bag vending machine comprising a frame, a shaft on said frame, aplurality of bags having bail handles supported by said frame, with saidshaft passing through said bail handles, a plate rotatably mounted onsaid frame, said plate being received in a slot in said shaft, saidplate having a notch therein, with one of said bail handles adapted tobe received in said notch, coin controlled lock means for controllingsaid plate, said plate being rotatable in a first direction toeffectvate dispensing of said bags, with said plate being rotatable bypulling one of said bags along said shaft to engage the bail handle ofsaid bag in said notch, and an arm pivotally mounted on said frame, saidarm being adapted to act in conjunction with said plate and said notchto prevent the loss of a bag once said coincontrolled lock means isopened.

k IF l 1* W

1. A bag vending machine comprising a frame, means on said frame forsupporting a plurality of bags, each of said bags having bail handles, ashaft supported by said frame, said bags being secured on said shaft bypassing said shaft through said bail handles, metering means forpermitting the dispensing of individual bags, a coin slot associatedwith said metering means, coin controlled lock means for controllingsaid metering means, said metering means comprising a plate, said shafthaving a slot formed therein, with said plate being received in saidslot, said plate being rotated in one direction in said slot during thevending of a bag, said plate having a notch in which the bail handle ofthe bag is carried when vending takes place, and means to preventretrograde motion of said bail handle upon the unlocking of saidcoin-controlled lock means by at least one coin, said preventing meanscomprising an arm pivotally mounted on said frame, said arm resting onsaid shaft adjacent said slot, said arm being lifted by said bail handleduring the vending of a bag, and means on said arm engagable by saidbail handle to prevent the return of the handle past the arm after saidlock means has been opened.
 2. The vending machine of claim 1 whereinsaid engageable means comprises at least one lip formed on said arm. 3.The vending machine of claim 1 wherein said arm comprises a pair of rodsseparated by a slot, said rods bridging said slot in said shaft, wherebysaid plate is rotAtable in said slot in said shaft and in said slotbridging said rods.
 4. The vending machine of claim 3 wherein each ofsaid rods has a lip formed at the end thereof, said lips beingengageable by said bail handle to prevent the return of the arm aftersaid lock means has been opened.
 5. A bag vending machine comprising aframe, a shaft on said frame, a plurality of bags having bail handlessupported by said frame, with said shaft passing through said bailhandles, a plate rotatably mounted on said frame, said plate beingreceived in a slot in said shaft, said plate having a notch therein,with one of said bail handles adapted to be received in said notch, coincontrolled lock means for controlling said plate, said plate beingrotatable in a first direction to effectvate dispensing of said bags,with said plate being rotatable by pulling one of said bags along saidshaft to engage the bail handle of said bag in said notch, and an armpivotally mounted on said frame, said arm being adapted to act inconjunction with said plate and said notch to prevent the loss of a bagonce said coin-controlled lock means is opened.